I Hate Crying at the Start of a Day, But…

… this is a happy one.

Just about a year ago, Amy told me about some ot the blogs she’d been reading, one of which was NieNie Dialogues. NieNie (Stephanie) is a beautiful young—only 28!—mother of four who, with her husband, survived a near-fatal plane crash almost a year ago. The pilot, a dear friend of theirs, was killed. To get the gist of it, watch this news report.

It has been a long, slow and very painful recovery for NieNie and her family. Almost her entire body was burned. She’s had a lot of struggles over the past year. As I am sure you can imagine, one of the things she has struggled with is how different she looks. Her children didn’t recognize her. They were afraid of her. Can you imagine how that must have felt? But that’s just surface stuff. She has also endured, and is still suffering with, a tremendous amount of pain.

As with most people who have followed their story, I am very impressed with her perseverance. And her bravery. I mean, really. I am in awe of her.

Just recently, with the 1-year anniversary of the crash looming, she decided to hike the relatively short but difficult Y Mountain Trail in or near Provo, Utah, which gains 1,000 feet of elevation.

It was this post on her blog that made me cry: NieNie At the Top. And all that’s there are pictures. But then, she’s a very talented photographer, too. I was just so happy to read about her triumph.

And I was thrilled to see this picture, the first she has posted of herself since the accident.

Really, look at it. She is the most beautiful woman I sort of know.